Ensuring the return of your deposit: Cleaning the bathroom

Cleaning the bathroom is never the most pleasant task but doing a good job of it is much more preferable to losing money from your deposit.

Once you’ve cleaned your kitchen, it should be quite simple to use many of the same products and techniques on the bathroom – following our tips will ensure a thorough, sparkling finish in no time at all!

Preparation...

Photo credit: wikiHow

If you’ve got a badly stained toilet, limescale or rust stains on the sink/bath, it’s best to start preparing to clean the night before. Pour either a whole bottle of cheap cola, white vinegar or specialist limescale remover down the toilet. Rub rust stains with a baking soda and water paste and leave to dry.

Fill a plastic sandwich bag with white vinegar and place over the showerhead until it’s submerged, securing with an elastic band. Soak paper towels in the vinegar and place around all taps.

Leave all of this overnight and, when you get up in the morning, flush the toilet, remove the baking soda paste and vinegar and rinse – this should get rid of the worst of the problems and leave you with a much easier job when cleaning the rest.

Toilet

Photo credit: eHow

You’ll need to have separate cleaning tools for the toilet – as you don’t want to spread the resultant bacteria round the rest of the bathroom. If you don’t want to splash out on more sponges, gloves and cloths than necessary, leave the toilet until last and throw everything away afterwards.

Pop on a pair of rubber gloves and start by pouring toilet cleaner into the bowl (making sure to squirt it under the rim). Give the whole outside of the toilet a wipe with a sponge and hot water. Make sure you include the seat, lid, flush handle, lid hinges, sides and top. This should get rid of the majority of surface dirt.

Grab a toilet brush and give the inside a good scrub, getting right under the rim and to the bottom of the pan. Once you’re happy, give it a flush and wipe the outside down again with antibacterial spray and a clean cloth.

Sink

Photo credit: Brightnest

Using a new sponge, wipe down the sink with hot, soapy water, including the backsplash, the taps and the outside of the basin. Use an old toothbrush and some dish soap to scrub around the base of the taps and the sealant and rinse.

Finally, pour some bleach down the drain, rinse after 20 minutes and then clean around the plughole and the overflow with a magic eraser to remove any stubborn stains. Dry everything with a clean microfibre cloth, including the taps.

Bath

Photo credit: Vizimac

Give the inside of the bath a wipe down with a sponge and some cream cleaner, rinsing with the shower to get rid of the excess.

Wipe the tops and sides of the bath and dry everything with a clean cloth. Pour some bleach down the drain, rinse and scrub around the plug hole with a toothbrush. Make sure you also clean the gap between the side panel and the top of the bath, as this can trap a lot of dirt.

Check the sealant for mould – a little bleach left on and rinsed after 20 minutes should get rid of this – although you may need to check for the source of the mould to ensure it hasn’t set in elsewhere.

Shower

Picture credit: eHow

Clean the shower tray (if you have one), shower and taps in the same way as the bathtub, above.

If you have a vinyl shower curtain that belongs to the landlord, give it a scrub with a mild bleach and water solution and re-hang. If it’s a fabric curtain, a cool wash in the washing machine will do the trick, but make sure you check the label first for washing instructions.

If the landlord didn’t provide a shower curtain, remove the one you’ve put up and either pack it to move with you or throw it away.

If you’ve got a glass shower screen or cubicle, soak it in white vinegar. Continue wiping with vinegar for 5 minutes, so it stays wet. The soap scum should dissolve and be easily rinsed away with warm water. Dry with a microfibre cloth.

Finishing touches

These last few jobs are quick to do but will make all the difference when it comes to an inspection:

Use the same method on your tiles and grout as you used in the kitchen

Sweep or vacuum and mop the floor – including the areas behind the toilet and sink

Wipe the skirting boards and windowsill

Squirt the mirror with glass cleaner and dry with a clean cloth

Replace any blown light bulbs

Wipe out the insides of any cupboards and clean any accessories such as toilet roll holders and towel rails

Resources

Quick Links

HomeLet is a leading supplier of Landlord Insurance, Tenant Referencing and Tenant Insurance. HomeLet is a trading name of Barbon Insurance Group Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for insurance mediation.
Registered in England number 3135797. Registered office address: Hestia House,Unit 2 Edgewest Road,Lincoln LN6 7EL.